I judge all headsets by Turtle Beach’s Ear Force PX5. To me, it is the gold standard when it comes to audio quality and versatility. The wireless headset may not have the most reliable connection, but when it comes to… Continue Reading →

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I judge all headsets by Turtle Beach's Ear Force PX5. To me, it is the gold standard when it comes to audio quality and versatility. The wireless headset may not have the most reliable connection, but when it comes to customization, usefulness and surround sound, few devices can match it. So I was curious to see what the company would do for an encore. I wondered what the follow-up would be.
Enter the Turtle Beach Ear Force XP Seven. These are headsets that the company describes as "Tournament Grade" and are the official ones used atMLG events. They are especially geared toward those who play professionally or at least want to. With that high standard, that means these cans have to be wired, which may be a detriment for those wanting to cut the cord. The trade-off is unbelievable sound and a ridiculous amount of customization thanks to the Audio Control Unit, which is the true leap forward in Turtle Beach's new set of cans.
Here's what it looks like when you open the box. The XP Seven is white.
I've been trying it out the past week with Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and the new Tomb Raider on the Xbox 360. The sound on both games is crisp and bright on the headset. It's easy to place the direction of gunfire with the discreet channels of audio, and as a gamer, I can appreciate soundtrack and sound effects more with crystal clear sound. Part of the reason that it seems to pop more is the heavy cushioning on the ear cups that muffles outside sounds.
Although they work great, I did run into one of two issues. The first is the complex the setup. It'll take a while to figure out how to use the multitude of cords packed in with the device. There is one for smartphones, another for the Audio Control Unit and optional ones for alternate audio inputs and the Xbox 360 audio. It can be overwhelming, but that's not as intimidating as operating the Audio Control Unit. Gamers will have to thoroughly read the manual to figure out how to squeeze every ounce of magic from the system.
What makes the XP Seven head and shoulders above its competitors right now is that with the Audio Control Unit, gamers can change audio preferences on the fly. They can switch from an audio profile with tons of bass to something that emphasizes enemy footsteps. That's something that Turtle Beach's headsets could do in the past but it was inefficient. Users needed to flip through all the options before picking the desired one. If that weren't enough, the Audio Control Unit takes that depth of control to a whole new level by letting players customize the loudness of the six channels of surround sound. In addition, they can change how loud or soft chat can be or how much chat and audio intermingle a la Astro's Mixamp. It pretty much as anything an audiophile can ask for.
The other drawback I encountered with the XP Seven is that they can get uncomfortable after an hour or so. I'm not sure if that's because it's new and they need breaking in or if it's just a design issue. The headset doesn't have any adjustable straps on its band. One thing I'll say though is that the more I wear them, the more they feel comfortable. I'll play one more game with the XP Seven (Crysis 3) before I give my final verdict. But so far, they're working out with a few growing pains.
This is the adapter that you use to connect the console audio to the Audio Control Unit.The padding on the ear cups are great and it eliminates a lot of the outside noise. It works a lot better than the PX5.The headset has this little dongle which can be used to connect a number of accessory cords such as one with a built-in mic so you can use the XP Seven for phone calls.Here is what it looks like after you lift the headset and Audio Control Unit out of the box.Here are a Swiss Army Knife of cords that enables the XP Seven to connect to a multitude of devices from a console and PC to a tablet or phone.
This is the Audio Control Unit, where all the magic happens.
]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2013/02/20/early-impressions-and-unboxing-of-turtle-beachs-ear-force-xp-seven/feed/5IMG_9527IMG_9530IMG_9532IMG_9537IMG_9538IMG_9539IMG_9541IMG_9542Turtle Beach announces Ear Force Seven series of headsets and updated linehttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2013/01/09/turtle-beach-announces-ear-force-seven-series-of-headsets-and-updated-line/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2013/01/09/turtle-beach-announces-ear-force-seven-series-of-headsets-and-updated-line/#commentsWed, 09 Jan 2013 16:10:11 +0000Gieson Cachohttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=25148

When I last time heard from Turtle Beach, the company was pushing its line of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 headsets. The thing about those cans is that they were the firm’s top-of-the-line sets. They just happened to be… Continue Reading →

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When I last time heard from Turtle Beach, the company was pushing its line ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 2 headsets. The thing about those cans is that they were the firm's top-of-the-line sets. They just happened to be branded with the logos and color scheme of the popular shooter. Turtle Beach said it would come out with neutral offerings in the future.
And at CES, they announced what those were. The company is revamping its wireless headsets with the Ear Force XP510 for the Xbox 360 and the Ear Force PX51 for the PlayStation 3. They are $289 and $269 respectively. It's odd how the price on the Xbox 360 version is higher, but that may be because of the special wireless receiver that's needed to connect to the Xbox 360 controller wirelessly.
I've outlined the special features of these devices before in my previous post but the short of it is that they can be used for gaming and talking or streaming music via your smartphone. The big improvements over the PX5s is that it's now dual band so that there's less popping and clearer sound no matter what wireless devices are around. The other nice feature is the built-in batteries, which offer up to 15 hours of play, according to Turtle Beach.
The wireless receiver on the left lets you voice chat on Xbox Live without wires using the Ear Force XP510.
The bigger news is that Turtle Beach is creating a set of tournament-quality headsets that have a ridiculous amount of functionality. These are the equivalent to the Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Sierra headsets. They are the most impressive set of gaming cans I've seen. The non-branded versions comes in three flavors: the Ear Force XP Seven for consoles ($279), the Ear Force Z Seven for PC gaming ($249) and Ear Force M Seven ($149) for mobile devices.
These have better audio than their wireless counterparts. The sound is richer. The extra padding around the ears dampens the outside noise so i'ts imperceptible. But the big boost comes from the Audio Control Unit, which lets players mix the game, chat and microphone levels on the fly. They can even change the presets and the arrangement of the virtual surround sound speakers. It's a ridiculous amount of control over your audio. The only issue I have with them is that Turtle Beach still needs to work on creating a striking design aesthetic, but with a removable microphone and customizable tag plates, the company is well on its way to creating the ideal headset.
Lastly, for those who are into tournament play, Turtle Beach does have a TM1 audio mixer ($249) that's used for LAN play. It lets up to six players on the same team talk to each other. The device can also divide the audio in other ways (two teams of three for example) and output a broadcast feed. Honestly, this is something for hard-core online competitions.
The headsets will be available in the first quarter of 2013, but if you can't wait, you can buy the Black Ops 2 versions, which are Sierra (wired) and Tango (wireless). They're essentially the same product for the most part.
Here is the Audio Control Unit. There's some special effects so you can see the computer innards.Here is the Z Seven for PC gaming.Images courtesy of Turtle Beach]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2013/01/09/turtle-beach-announces-ear-force-seven-series-of-headsets-and-updated-line/feed/0Turtle Beach Seven seriesTurtle Beach XP510Turtle Beach Seven seriesTurtle Beach Seven seriesTurtle Beach Seven series